Calypso 150 drivers look to join star-studded list of ARCA winners at Iowa

On Saturday, for the first time this year, the stars and cars of both the ARCA Menards Series and the ARCA Menards Series East will unite for one of four combination races on the 2023 schedule.

The Calypso 150 at Iowa Speedway (Saturday, 7 p.m. on FS2 and FloRacing) marks the ninth race of the 2023 ARCA Menards Series season and the fifth race of the East Series season.

Saturday’s race also marks the 17th time the ARCA Menards Series will visit Iowa Speedway and the 20th race at the 0.875-mile oval for the East Series.

The ARCA Menards Series made its debut at Iowa in 2006 when Steve Wallace, the son of NASCAR Cup Series champion Rusty Wallace, triumphed in a 250-lap event that included drivers like Juan Pablo Montoya, Justin Marks, Michael McDowell and Justin Allgaier.

Other winners in ARCA competition at Iowa include Frank Kimmel, Parker Kligerman, Ty Dillon, Alex Bowman, Grant Enfinger, Chase Briscoe, Sheldon Creed, Chandler Smith, Ty Gibbs and Brandon Jones.

The East Series first visited Iowa Speedway in 2007 as part of a combination race with the West Series. That event was won by future NASCAR Cup Series champion Joey Logano.

Other East Series victors at Iowa include Kyle Busch, Brett Moffitt, Chase Elliott, Corey LaJoie, Cole Custer, Ben Rhodes, Todd Gilliland, Tyler Ankrum and Sam Mayer.

Tickets to Saturday’s Calypso 150 are available here.

What to Watch For

The first of four combination races between the ARCA Menards Series and ARCA Menards Series East takes place Saturday night at Iowa Speedway, and the best of both divisions will be on display.

Headlining the list of entries is Jesse Love, the current ARCA Menards Series championship points leader who has won four times in the last six ARCA Menards Series races. He’ll be looking to pad his points lead at the top of the standings in his No. 20 Toyota fielded by Venturini Motorsports.

William Sawalich, the ARCA Menards Series East championship leader, headlines the list of East Series combatants at Iowa. He’s already won two East Series races this year in addition to an ARCA Menards Series victory at Berlin Raceway in the No. 18 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing.

Frankie Muniz, fresh off a sixth-place finish last week at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, will be looking for his first top-five finish of the season for Rette Jones Racing.

Luke Fenhaus, a winner in East Series competition at Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway, will make his first start in the ARCA Menards Series as part of Saturday’s combination event for the Pinnacle Racing Group.

Lavar Scott, an East Series regular who impressed in his ARCA Menards Series debut at Daytona International Speedway in February, will pilot the No. 6 for Rev Racing alongside teammate Andres Perez de Lara.

Other notable entrants include Conner Jones, Toni Breidinger, Christian Rose, Jon Garrett and Zachary Tinkle, among others.

Crew Chief Handout: The starting field for the Calypso 150 is limited to 26 starters plus provisionals. This event will run under the 2023 ARCA Menards Series rules, procedures, regulations and specifications.

Qualifying: The starting lineup is set by each car’s fastest lap per the timed session qualifying procedure. All cars must make a qualifying attempt, and all drivers must practice before they can qualify.

Race Pit Stop: Break pit stop procedure. Breaks at or near the conclusion of laps 50 and 100. All cars will be required to make at least one pit stop prior to the last 10 laps of the race. No adding or moving tires to or from the pit box once the race has started.

Maximum Tire Allotment: The maximum tire use at the track for the event is 14. Per ARCA Rulebook, the maximum number of tires allowed in the pit box for use in the race is six.